Jalen Hurts donates $600K for AC at Northeast High School

Jalen Hurts has once again stepped up for local students.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback announced Tuesday at Northeast High School that he would donate $600,000 to provide air conditioning for the Northeast Philadelphia school as part of his foundation’s “Keep It Cool” initiative.

“I want to continue to support these students in any way that I can, and support this city,” Hurts said. “Sometimes the simplest things, [the] most standard things are what we need; rather, what we're missing to kind of put it all together.

“I just want to continue to advocate and support having AC, having air conditioning where you can learn. An environment where you can teach.”

Hurts said that he was “sitting watching the morning news” three years ago when he first heard that a lack of AC was an issue, something the Texas native hadn’t previously considered.

“Being from the South, I was very blown away by school being canceled, not for snow, not for a hurricane or a tropical storm, but for lack of AC,” he continued.

Hurts took that as a call to action, and in 2024, he established the Jalen Hurts Foundation, with “Keep It Cool” among its first initiatives. The foundation initially donated $200,000 to provide 300 air conditioning units throughout the School District of Philadelphia, and later an additional $110,000 — $5,000 for every touchdown Hurts scored during the 2024-25 season.

Organizers called this newly announced contribution the foundation's “largest donation to date,” bringing the total investment by Hurts and the foundation to nearly $1 million.

The number of Philadelphia school buildings without adequate air conditioning has decreased from 118 four years ago to 52 today, but plenty of work remains. Despite the school year just beginning, schools have been forced to dismiss early multiple times due to excessive heat.

Though temperatures outside were in the high 60s when the event began, the auditorium, packed with more than 1,000 local students, teachers, leaders and officials, was far from comfortable.

Industrial fans circulated air within the room, but little could be done to combat the rising temperatures as many did what they could to beat the heat.

Mayor Cherelle Parker, who joined Hurts and several local leaders, including Superintendent Tony Watlington and Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, addressed the impact of Hurts’ donation.

“On behalf of the entire City of Philadelphia, we say thank you for your gift. You will have an impact on more than the 3,400 students who attend this school on a daily basis because they’re going to feel it on a daily basis when they are here,” Parker said.

The district continues to explore traditional and creative options to provide adequate air conditioning in all Philadelphia public schools. It has moved away from its previous goal of providing adequate cooling in every school by 2027, instead folding cooling upgrades into its 10-year facilities modernization plan.

For Northeast High School and its more than 3,400 students, Hurts’ latest contribution will help address that need much sooner.

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